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Juan Cole

Iraq
Sadr won’t Oppose US Crackdown on Militia; Al-Musawi Denies Mahdi Army Disbanded; Demands National Referendum on SOFA

Sadr won’t Oppose US Crackdown on Militia; Al-Musawi Denies Mahdi Army Disbanded; Demands National Referendum on SOFA

Juan Cole

Two bombings near a university in Baghdad killed 2 and wounded 23 persons on Monday. 3 GIs were announced killed on Monday in separate incidents. Some 15 Iraqis were estimated killed in political violence, with 43 wounded. The Sadr Movement says it will not oppose the planned military operation in Amara as long as the […]

Uncategorized
McClatchy Guantanamo Guards Abused Known Innocents

McClatchy Guantanamo Guards Abused Known Innocents

Juan Cole

John McCain’s attack on the Supreme Court for upholding the right of Habeas Corpus even for Guantanamo detainees was self-serving and hypocritical. But it was also ethically wrong, because the Guantanamo system is ethically wrong. Tom Lasseter of McClatchy reports that the news service has done extensive interviewing with 66 prisoners released from Guantanamo and […]

Iraq
Sadr Movement Will Back Independents;

Sadr Movement Will Back Independents;

Juan Cole

Salah al-Ubaidi, a spokesman for the Sadr Movement, says that it will not boycott the fall provincial elections, exactly. The Movement will not run candidates under its own name, but will rather have some Sadrists run on other party lists, and will through support behind independents. This strategy is similar to that of the Muslim […]

Uncategorized
Karzai Theatens Pursuit into Pakistan

Karzai Theatens Pursuit into Pakistan

Juan Cole

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday threatened to send Afghan troops on hot pursuit of Taliban readicals right into Pakistani territory. That threat doesn’t strike me as a good development for the US in Afghanistan.

Iraq
2 Killed, 45 Injured in Bombings Saturday; Sadr To Appoint Special Ops Commanders; Sadrists Withdraw from Provincial Elections

2 Killed, 45 Injured in Bombings Saturday; Sadr To Appoint Special Ops Commanders; Sadrists Withdraw from Provincial Elections

Juan Cole

A female suicide bomber injured 34 soccer fans and police in the town of Qara Tappah in Diyala Province, 75 miles northeast of Baghdad. The fans had poured into the street after watching Iraq beat China in a sports cafe. Likely this was an attack by a radical Sunni Arab cell on a largely Kurdish […]

Uncategorized
Massive Guerrilla attack in Afghanistan; 4 Marines Killed

Massive Guerrilla attack in Afghanistan; 4 Marines Killed

Juan Cole

Breaking News: Guerrillas in western Afghanistan deployed a roadside bomb to kill 4 US Marines on Saturday. Pushtun guerrillas mounting an insurgency against the Karzai government and against NATO troops in the Pushtun areas of Afghanistan staged a daring prison break on Friday. They set off bombs at a prison in Qandahar, killing 15 prison […]

Iraq
Al-Maliki: May ask US Troops to Leave; Al-Sadr Forms Special Groups to Fight Occupation

Al-Maliki: May ask US Troops to Leave; Al-Sadr Forms Special Groups to Fight Occupation

Juan Cole

First, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that negotiations between Iraq and the Bush administration over a status of forces agreement were at an impasse. He said that the US was asking Iraq to give up too much sovereignty. Earlier this week he had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who warned him against giving […]

Iraq
Suspects’ Right to Court Hearing Affirmed; Obama Advisors Clash on Troop Strength

Suspects’ Right to Court Hearing Affirmed; Obama Advisors Clash on Troop Strength

Juan Cole

If you liked the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of Habeas Corpus, vote Obama. McCain did not like it and will be in a position to appoint a justice who will vote with the four dissenters. Bush dismissed the ruling as that of only 5 against 4. (Wasn’t that the margin that made him president in 2000?) […]

Uncategorized
US Airstrike in Pakistan Angers Public; Afghanistan Aid Plagued by Corruption

US Airstrike in Pakistan Angers Public; Afghanistan Aid Plagued by Corruption

Juan Cole

A wave of anger has washed over Pakistan because the US hit Pakistani troops along with the Taliban to whom it was giving hot pursuit. I don’t think a lot of the development aid given Afghanistan is reaching its intended objects. Farideh Farhi at our Global Affairs blog on how Iran’s Iraq policy is not […]

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